


Three's Company Too

by PhantomTraveler



Series: Long Enough [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Animal death (not Bowie), Brotherly Banter, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Schmoop, animal surgery, reckless use of an OFC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 09:03:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8618128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomTraveler/pseuds/PhantomTraveler
Summary: KT decides to add some more services to her animal clinic, it doesn’t go quiet as expected.





	

Three’s Company Too

 

It’s a lazy Saturday. Dean’s been camped out in front of the television watching college football all day, there’s only so much yelling at referees Sam can take. Eventually he pried himself off the couch and heads down the hall towards his room, he’s pretty sure he left the book about Sumerian on his nightstand. As he passes KTs room he hears a crash followed by a muffled curse. He pauses and knocks on the door,

“ _KT…you ok_?”

Sam waits a moment but after hearing no reply he pushed the door open slowly. The table near the middle of the room appeared to be covered in blue paper material. A surgery pack was unwrapped and the instruments were laid out in a neat row to the right of a box that had turned over on its side. Sam couldn’t see KT and his worry was beginning to amp up until he heard a thump followed by a louder curse. He crossed the room to find KT on all fours on the ground her torso half under the bed. The thump must have been her left arm giving out and her crashing to the ground. Sam tilted his head to the side,

“ _Hey uh KT, what are you doing_?”

KT scrambled out from under the bed,

“ _Oh good, come down here and put your long arms to good use_.”

Sam kneeled down next to KT,

“ _What do you need?”_

 _“Can you reach under the bed and get the thing that rolled underneath it please?_ ”

Sam reached under the bed and grabbed the thing that was under the bed. The shape wasn’t immediately familiar to him, the outside felt like a sweatshirt but when he squeezed it the bottom half was solid. He pulled the item out from under the bed and examined it. It was about a foot long and tubular shaped. The outside did appear to be sweatshirt material but he could see through the hole cut in the top that there was batting and maybe foam inside. The bottom of it felt like PCV pipe. Sam turned to KT who was sitting with her back against the bed, he held the item out to her and raised an eyebrow. KT shrugged,

“ _That’s Carla_.”

Sam raised an eyebrow,

“ _That raises more question’s then it answers_.”

Sam started poking into the opening on the top of the item and pulled out some rubber tubing in a Y shape. KT rolled her eyes,

“ _It’s like a fake dog abdomen so you can practice spaying without using a real dog. What you’ve got in your hands right now would be the uterus and ovaries_.”

Sam dropped the tubing in his hands like it was on fire, KT laughed at his antics.

“ _Sam it’s literally PCV pipe, foam, paper, two Penrose drains tied together, alligator clips, quilt batting and sweatshirt material. I’m literally spaying a sweatshirt it’s not going to infect you with anything_.”

Sam nodded, but then furrowed his brow,

“ _Why are you spaying a sweatshirt_?”

KT looked a little sheepish,

“ _Well, it’s been close to two years since the last surgery, I figured maybe I’d see if I could offer spays and neuters again at the clinic. But first I have to make sure I can physically do the surgery_.”

Sam nodded thoughtfully,

“ _So…how’s that going_?”

KT sighed and gave a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes,

“ _Not great, I’ve been working on it for about a week now, so far I can do about 1/3 of the surgery before I feel like I’m about to pass out and my left arm is not half as dexterous as it used to be._ ”

Sam leaned over and brushed a lock of hair out of KTs face,

“ _I’m sorry_.”

KT shrugged,

“ _Don’t be, it is what it is. I’ll keep working at it, maybe I wont be as fast as I used to be, maybe I wont ever actually be able to do it, but I might as well try_.”

KT started to get up off the floor, Sam scrambled to help her up, KT held out a hand,

“ _It’s fine Sam I can get myself up from the floor, do you think this is the first time I’ve found myself here_?”

KT braced her right arm against the bed and got her left under her and pushed upward, eventually she managed to get upright. Sam stood by the whole time trying to not look like he was ready to catch her if she fell at any moment. The scoff KT let out once she was upright would indicate that he was not very successful at hiding his intentions. He handed her back the sweatshirt tube, she walked it back over to the table, righting the stand and placing it on top.

“ _Thanks for your help Sam_.”

Sam smiled as he walked towards the door,

“ _No problem, I guess I’ll see you in the morning_.”

KT smiled as she picked up her needle drivers,

“ _Night Sam_.”

Sam walked out the door and headed to the kitchen his book long forgotten. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. A little while later Dean walked in, he paused in front of Sam,

“ _Uh Bro? Isn’t it a little late to be sipping on the caffeine all broody in the kitchen_?”

Sam shrugged, Dean sighed and poured himself a cup and sat down next to his brother,

“ _Alright lay it on me what’s bothering you? You’ve got major guilt vibes going on.”_

 _“I’m mad that she’s doing well_.”

Dean cocked his head to the side,

“ _What_?”

Sam’s voice took on a bitter tone,

“ _KT, she’s been doing so well lately, and just now she didn’t need me to help her get up off the floor and I felt, unneeded and it made me mad. And how messed up is that? A friend finally starts to gain some of her life back after a horrible attack and I’m mad because I’m not needed? Who does that?!”_

Dean starts to chuckle, Sam glared at his brother,

“ _You find this funny_?!”

Dean schooled his expression,

“ _Of course I find this funny. You asked who does this, who gets mad when they’re not needed. Dude, that’s like my main character trait. How many times over the years have I gotten mad at you when you tell me you don’t need me in that snotty college boy voice of yours_?”

“ _Hmm, but wait, you haven’t gotten mad at me about that in a few years_.”

Dean nodded,

“ _Because I figured out the secret_.”

Dean leaned forward like he was sharing a very important secret, Sam was on the edge of his seat,

“ _They always need you_.”

Sam sat back disappointed,

“ _I thought you were going to give me advice.”_

 _“I am Sam, and the truth is, they always need you. A couple years ago you going off and getting a job that doesn’t involve me would have sent me into a blind rage. My job is to take care of my snot nosed brother right? But you can pretty much take care of yourself._ ”

Sam nodded, Dean took a sip of his coffee and continued,

“ _But the thing is, when you’re tired, when you’re sick, when you’ve just had a rough day you walk through that door with that look that just screams you need your big brother to fix it. So I make you a sandwich or get you a beer and I listen to you bitch about growing library fees or angry housewives or whatever and for that day I’m needed. It’s great that KT is doing so well, but there are always going to be bad days and she’ll need you on those days. Every other day, be proud of how far she’s come and be her friend.”_

_“Thanks Dean.”_

_“No problem._ ”

Dean stood up and punched Sam hard in the shoulder,

“ _That’s for making me have a major sappy moment when no ones in mortal danger, Bitch_.”

Sam rubbed his shoulder and muttered,

“ _Jerk_.”

            About one month later KT finally felt that she had the hang of spaying the sweatshirt and wanted to go take inventory and see about some modifications to the surgery suite. Dean put down his coffee mug and looked at KT who was packing up her messenger bag,

“ _Are you sure you don’t want us to come with you?”_

_“No it’s fine, Tina and I are going to be doing inventory for a couple of hours and then just messing with the surgery suite. No heavy lifting and no animals will be involved.”_

_“Alright, but let me drive you there and text me when you’re done and I’ll come pick you up.”_

_“Thanks Dean_.”

KT picked up her bag and headed towards the door, Dean followed her to the impala. They pulled into the parking lot of the clinic and KT got out of the car, she turned back to Dean,

“ _Thanks Dean and I promise no heavy lifting will be done, just boring paperwork.”_

Dean gave a gruff nod,

“ _Good lets keep it that way_.”

KT rolled her eyes as she walked into the clinic. As she walked into the backroom she could see Tina was already there going through a box of suture. Tina looked up and grinned,

“ _I thought I heard the rumble of that sweet ride, is it going to be accompanied by the sweet rumble of one of those boys_?”

Tina began to peer past KT who sighed as she put her bag down on a chair,

“ _Sorry Tina I left the boys at home today, I figured they needed a break from your constant sexual harassment_.”

Tina giggled,

“ _Can I help it if those two tall drinks of water get my motor running?”_

 _“You’re going to be the death of me. Come on we’ve got a lot of inventory to go through_.”

The two worked quietly for an hour, digging through surgical boxes, making sure all their supplies were up to day, re-autoclaving surgery packs, making order forms for what they still needed. As they went through the last box they moved into the surgery suite so KT could see what mortifications would be needed. She went through the motions of putting on a surgery gown, draping the sterile field, and once again Carla the sweatshirt made an appearance so she could see how a spay would go. When she was through she had a list of things either to buy or for the boys to build. She and Tina sat down to rest their tired feet, KT sent a quick text to Dean letting him know they were mostly done and he could come get her whenever he was ready, KT pulled out half a pie and two forks,

“ _Swiped this from our fridge for us to split as our victory meal, Dean made it so it’s really good_.”

Tina picked up the fork that was offered to her and took a bite, she made an obscene moan. After a few bites she sat back and crossed her arms,

“ _So what is up with this whole reverse three’s company you have going on in your house_?”

KTs eyes widened,

“ _What?”_

_“Like which ones the Chrissy and which ones the Janet?”_

_“I don’t know what that means and I don’t think I want to.”_

_“I mean come on KT I worked with you for five years, you almost never came out with us, you held up in your one bedroom apartment, you went to work and you came home you went to work and you came home. We were all worried you were one drunk trip to the animal shelter away from becoming the crazy cat lady_.”

KT furrowed her brow,

“ _Does this rant have a point?”_

 _“All I’m saying is, before you were the definition of a hermit, but then you just up and disappeared for like half a year, and in the middle of your disappearing act I run into these tall, gorgeous men who claim they’re good friends of yours. I almost laughed them right back into the shiny car of theirs but Sam comes over with those puppy dog eyes of his, talking about how that uptight braid of yours and how they’ve seen you let your hair down and all this other crap and I just hoped that maybe you had some sort of secret awesome secondary life out there or something. Then you come back to town without a word and buy a house with those two men. Then I find out you do have a secret life, just not quite the kind of life I had imagined. And lord knows I don’t know what the three of you get up to in that house of yours. If it were me I’d never be leaving the house if you know what I mean. But, you seem happier, you seem lighter somehow. So whatever it is I’m glad it exists_.”

The two women sat in silence for a moment both lost in thought,

“ _Thanks Tina_.”

Tina nodded, a grin slowly spreading across her face,

“ _But girl I swear if you are not tapping at least one of those fine asses I am going to whoop you upside the head_.”

KT turned bright red just as Sam and Dean walked into the room, Dean saw the two women sitting at the desk,

“ _Hey ladies, how’s it going_?”

Tina smiled,

“ _Much better now that you fine gentlemen are here_.”

Dean chuckled,

“ _Oh Tina always the charmer_.”

Dean glanced over to KT to see that her face was bright red,

“ _Aw Tina what did you say to make KT blush like that?”_

 _“Honey I would tell you but the doc here keeps threatening me with a sexual harassment suite so I better not share_.”

KT cleared her throat,

“ _Let me show you guys what I think needs to be done in the surgery suite_.”

KT got up and the Winchesters followed her into the surgery suite. Sam took notes as KT explained the different mortifications she wanted. When they were done the three walked back into the treatment room. Dean walked over to the pie and started eating what was left. KT suddenly bolted towards the cabinet,

“ _Oh I almost forgot, since you guys will probably have to accompany me in surgery I made you some scrub caps_.”

KT reached into the cabinet and pulled out several surgery caps, she handed two to Sam and two to Dean. KT clasped her hands together,

“ _Everyone gets one animal themed one and one other kind_.”

Sam looked down and looked at the first cap it was a deep blue and had several different large breed dogs on it and around the edge it had a boarder of paw prints and bones, the second cap was black and appeared to have a few constellations on it, as he examined it further he saw: Camelopardalis, Canes Venatici, Orion, and Perseus. Sam didn’t know if the cap made him want to roll his eyes or cry but he was touched. He looked over to see Dean turning his caps over in his hands, his first one was a navy blue background and had wolves on it, the one in main focus was howling at the moon, his second cap was a forest green and was covered in words, Dean paused and read the words on the cap, he looked up and smiled,

“ _Dude, does this have the lyrics to Ramble On_?”

KT nodded,

“ _Yep, I know it’s one of your favorite songs and it’s actually one of mine as well, I figured if nothing else it gives me something to look at while in surgery_.”

Tina scoffed,

“ _What is wrong with you? Something to look at? How about that fine specimen of man meat that will be standing directly in front of you looking all edible and what not?”_

Dean coughed,

“ _So Tina what do your scrub caps look like_?”

The grin that Tina fixed him with made him regret asking that question, Tina pulled two caps out from the cabinet, the first one had shirtless cowboys standing next to cactuses and old trucks, some of which were wearing some pretty suggestive chaps, the second cap was similar it had shirtless firemen, standing in front of the truck, swinging an axe, and generally making Sam and Dean uncomfortable. Sam spluttered,

“ _Wait I thought one had to be animal themed_?”

Tina pointed at the cap with the firemen on it,

“ _Well look right here, the nice shirtless firemen have a Dalmatian_.”

Dean put his head in his hands,

“ _Please don’t make me stand in surgery with her, that cap makes me uncomfortable_.”

KT patted his shoulder,

“ _You get used to it I promise_.”

KT took the caps from the men and put them back in the cabinet. She packed up her bag and the four of them headed towards the door, as they parted ways to head to their cars Dean’s ears perked up, Tina was humming a tune that seemed so familiar but he just couldn’t put his finger on it, it sounded like an old sitcom he probably used to hear growing up. KT turned a deep shade of red and started shuffling both men towards the car, in the commotion Dean forgot about the tune he was trying to place. It wasn’t until later that evening when he was getting ready for bed that the lyrics suddenly popped into his head,

            _We’ve a lovable space that needs your face_

_Three’s company too_

Dean fell asleep with a grin on his face.

            It had been about a month since KT had started doing routine surgeries again and for the most part it had been going well. She had days where she came home and could barley function, she’d had a couple days where she’d had to ask one of the boys to carry her in from the car, and she had one tense day where she had to get Sam to finish suturing the abdomen of a dog because her whole arm was shaking so much. But she had completed each surgery she set out to do, she was able to complete a spay in a respectable amount of time and her patients always left happy. The Winchester’s and KT had been having a good few months, things at work had been great, the few hunts they had gone on had all ended with minimum injuries and they were all getting along great at home. Dean was practically crawling out of his skin waiting for the other shoe to drop.

            The three hunters were at the animal clinic, it was already two hours past lunch and Sam noted that KTs lunch was sitting untouched, he didn’t think she had stopped being in motion once this entire day. Every scheduled appointment ended up being complicated and taking much longer then usual, not to mention the fifteen walk-ins they had already had. KT walked out of an appointment room, as she was closing the door Sam could hear her speaking to the people inside,

“ _Take all the time you need I’ll be back to check on you in ten minutes ok_?”

She paused in the hallway until Tina caught her eye,

“ _30mls of Euthanasia Solution please, the Trunnels have to say goodbye to Mac_ ”

Tina nodded, KT walked into the next exam room a smile plastered on her face. Tina shook her head,

“ _She’s got the devil on her shoulder this week poor thing_.”

Sam cocked his head to the side,

“ _What_?”

“ _That’s the fourth pet she’s had to put down today, and the tenth of the week, every vet goes through these streaks but KT takes it really hard when it happens. I’d tread lightly with her at home until this passes.”_

 _“Why does she take it harder then most_?”

Tina put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow,

“ _Really? That woman bleeds empathy, I swear I’ve seen her have to put on a Band-Aid after I cut my finger. Having to feel everyone’s pain and having to be the cause of that pain, it takes its toll, and having it all concentrated like this, it makes it hard_.”

KT walked out of the exam room she was in and walked back into the first exam room, she came out a moment later.

“ _Tina, I need you to grab Mac and put a catheter in, Sam can you fill these meds for Reginald I’m going to go try and answer the ten phone messages I have piled up and then see the walk-in that’s been sitting there for two hours. Tina can you come get me when Mac is ready, don’t let them wait get me wherever I am_.”

KT started to walk towards her office, Sam held out his hand,

“ _Wait_!”

KT turned, Sam pulled a granola bar out of his pocket,

“ _Can you at least eat this while you’re on the phone please_?”

KT gave a small smile and grabbed the granola bar from Sam as she headed down the hall. The last scheduled appointment was at 4:00pm, the last client was shown out the door at 6:45pm. As Dean locked the door he walked back to the treatment room, he found Sam collapsed in a desk chair and Tina laying flat on the exam table with her hand over her eyes. Dean leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor. About twenty minutes later KT came stumbling down the hallway, she stopped when she saw the three of them almost passed out in the treatment room. KT crossed her arms,

“ _Tina what are you still doing here? Go home. And you two, you should head home as well.”_

Tina groaned

“ _I still have to restock the exam rooms and clean the waiting room. I would say I would do it in the morning but we all know that ain’t happening I’ll stick around for a little while longer_.”

Sam pursed his lips,

“ _What about you KT_?”

KT sighed,

“ _I have a mountain of paperwork, literally a mountain. It’s going to be a while before I can head home_.”

Dean made noise as he shifted on the floor,

“ _We can wait for you_.”

KT laughed,

“ _And what sleep on the floor? Look, go home, shower off this day, make some dinner and relax and I’ll text you when I can get home_ ”

KT walked over and kicked at Deans leg,

“ _Seriously go now, if you stay still much longer you wont be able to move, and no way I can carry both your gigantic asses out to the ca_ r.”

Tina raised her arm off her eyes,

“ _I volunteer to grab at least one of those asses please_!”

KT kicked Dean again,

“ _Seriously go before Tina gets a second wind of sexual harassment in her, you might be too weak to fight off her advances_.”

Sam got up and walked over to his brother offering his hand, Dean took it and Sam hauled him off the ground. The men headed towards the door, Sam turned and pointed his finger at KT,

“ _If you don’t text us by 10pm I will walk in here and drag you out myself_.”

KT nodded but she was already heading back to her office.

            The first thing Sam and Dean did when they got home was head to their separate showers, once they were clean Dean started prepping a quick dinner of pasta with a marinara sauce. Sam sat at the kitchen table and rubbed his temples.

“ _Uhg I feel like I went twelve rounds with a Wendigo_.”

Dean chuckled,

“ _You’re getting old there bro.”_

_“Am not, plus you’re older then me anyway!”_

_“It’s not about the physical age but how old we are on the inside, I am still a robust 26, you on the other hand are pushing at least 55.”_

_“Uhg, shut up Dean I’m too tired to deal with your bull shit tonight.”_

_“Somebodies cranky, do I need to put you down for a nap?”_

_“I will stab you in the eye with a pen knife if you don’t quit it_.”

The rest of dinner prep was done in silence, eventually Dean slid a plate in front of Sam and they both ate their dinner efficiently and quietly. When they were done Dean grabbed two beers and headed towards the couch. The men sat at either end of the couch drinking their beers, Dean flipping through the channels looking for something to watch, eventually he came across some NCIS reruns and set the remote down. As Ducky was explaining to Tony what sort of murder weapon was used Sam felt his eyelids getting heavy, he felt that if he only closed them for a second his eyes could get some relief.

            Sam shot up from where he had fallen asleep on the couch, he turned to see Dean passed out on the cushion next to him, Sam glanced at his watch and he jumped off the couch kicking his brother as he scrambled to pull his phone out of his pocket. He had no missed calls or text messages,

“ _Dean, get up man it’s midnight_ ”

Dean startled awake just in time to see Sam head quickly down the hallway, Dean pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and confirmed the time. Sam came back from the hallway and threw Deans jacket at him,

“ _Come on man it’s passed midnight and KTs not home and I don’t have any messages from her_.”

Dean scrubbed a hand down his face,

“ _Sam calm down, either she fell asleep on her mountain of paperwork or she got so caught up in it she doesn’t realize what time it is. We’ll drive down and get her it’s fine_.”

Sam and Dean got into the impala and headed towards the clinic. When they got there they noticed Tina’s car was still in the parking lot. Sam’s voice was slightly panicked,

“ _Dean_ ”

“ _Yeah I see it Sammy, maybe Tina just wanted to help out and they both fell asleep_.”

Dean’s voice didn’t quite match his words. Both men got out of the car and walked cautiously towards the backdoor of the clinic. Dean opened the door and they entered silently. The treatment room looked like a bomb had gone off, there were syringes and fluid bags and debree everywhere. Sam accidentally knocked down a roll of vet wrap, which, was precariously balanced on the table, both men tensed as it made a small noise. Tina’s head popped out of the surgery suite,

“ _Oh thank god you guys are here I was just about to call you_.”

As they walked closer to the surgery suite they could see the room was even worse then the treatment area. There were two surgery packs open, the floor was covered in blood and lap sponges and there appeared to be a diseased dog on the table covered with a sheet. It wasn’t until Dean took a second visual sweep of the room that he noticed KT on the floor slumped against the wall head in her hands and shoulders hitching. Dean kneeled down and put his hand on KTs shoulder,

“ _Hey sweetheart what happened_?”

KTs breath hitched and she slid even farther down the wall to escape the contact. Tina put a hand on Dean’s shoulder,

“ _I wouldn’t touch her right now, any contact is going to hurt like hell_.”

Dean stood up and his eyes where bright with anger,

“ _What happened here Tina_?”

“ _Mr. Keller was banging on our door at about 7:15pm screaming for help. He had Riley in his arms and he looked like he was in bad shape. We let him in to see if KT could do anything for him_.”

Sam closed his eyes, he knew Riley, super sweet Labrador. He’d helped KT see the over excited dog a few times. The dog was always trying to crawl into KTs lap when she was trying to examine him and he’d knocked her down a few times while trying to give her doggy kisses. He thinks he remembers KT telling him he’s so excited to see her because a few years back he had cruciate surgery and had come to KT once a week for two months for rehab and in order to get him on the underwater treadmill KT had to use copious amounts of peanut butter. Apparently he had torn his cruciate while playing in the backyard with the three Keller children and they had come to almost every session with Riley because they felt so guilty that it was there fault. KT laughed when she told Sam it had taken copious amounts of peanut butter cookies to ease the consciousness of those three kids. Sam opened his eyes as Tina continued to tell them what happened.

“ _His gums were pale, his stomach was distended, it didn’t take long for KT to figure out he had a GDV, she tried to relieve the pressure and get him stable enough so they could get him to the ER but he coded on the exam table. She did CPR for ten minutes, pushed a tremendous amount of drugs and somehow got him back, but it was clear he wouldn’t make it to the ER, he needed surgery that second. So she did the surgery. The surgery took three and a half hours and was brutal, the dog coded twice on the table and his stomach was severely necrotic from being twisted. She fixed the twisting, drained the gas, and removed the necrotic tissue and patched the stomach. We thought we’d done it, she was closing up the abdomen when he coded again, she tried for forty minutes to get him back, way past normal protocol but he was gone, his stomach had been twisted for too long and he just couldn’t handle all the damage. It would have been a miracle if he had survived this night and for a brief moment we thought we had that miracle, but…it just wasn’t meant to be. She spoke to Mr. Keller on the phone while she was doing CPR and they agreed together for her to stop, she even put it on speaker so the kids could say goodbye while Riley’s blood was still pumping. She stopped, pronounced his death, said goodbye to the Keller’s and then she collapsed onto the floor and hasn’t moved since. It’s been about half an hour now and she’s just shut down. I was looking for her phone to call you guys when you walked in_.”

Sam gave Tina a small smile,

“ _Let us help you clean everything up so you can go home_.”

Tina nodded. The three of them made quick work of cleaning up all the surgical instruments and supplies. Sam helped Tina put Riley into a white box and tucked away for the night. KT didn’t look up once the entire time the three were moving around the room. When they had finished Sam put his hand on Tina’s shoulder,

“ _Go home Tina_.”

Tina hesitated and looked over at KT, Sam gave her a nod,

“ _We’ve got her I promise, we’ll take care of her.”_

_“I’m really glad she found you boys.”_

_“Trust me Tina, we’re really happy we found her_.”

Tina gave Sam a smile,

“ _Alright, I’m going home_.”

Tina walked out of the clinic, as the Winchester’s heard her car drive off both men’s attention was turned solely to the doctor who was curled up against the wall of the surgical suite.

Sam surveyed the scene, KT had pulled off her surgical gloves but that seemed to be all she’d done before sliding down the wall, she still had on her surgical gown and cap and mask, her right hand was covering her face, at first it seemed like her left arm was doing the same but upon closer inspection it became clear that her left arm was laying lifeless across her knees which were tucked against her chest, the tremors that racked her body looked violent. Dean knelt down in front of KT and spoke softly,

“ _Hey sweetheart, we’re here to take you home_.”

KT didn’t respond, Dean reached towards her to pick her up Sam put his hand on Dean’s shoulder to stop him. Dean turned to Sam, Sam motioned for him to follow him out the door.

“ _What is it Sam? We can’t leave her on the floor much longer.”_

_“Dude, look at her she’s not mentally here right now, you go and try and move her she’s going to panic, also you head Tina she did CPR on that dog for forty minutes after a marathon surgery, if we touch her the wrong way or if she starts thrashing around it’s going to hurt her a lot.”_

_“Do you have a plan?”_

_“I have a hunch, follow my lead_.”

Sam walked back into the room, he leaned against the wall and slid down it slowly so he was sitting on the floor next to KT, Dean did the same on the other side of her. Sam waited a beat, when KT didn’t react he started speaking in a low voice,

“ _Riley was a good dog, he was the best baby sitter those kids could have ever had. Do you remember a few months ago, Mr. Keller came in and told us how Riley pulled Terri out of the pond when he fell in? Dog was so freaked out he followed that kid around and would pull him back by the waste of his pants every time he moved a little too far away_.”

Sam paused, KTs hand had dropped from covering her face to her side, her face was still buried in her knees. When she made no other moves Sam continued on.

“ _Do you think he could have climbed down the side of that hill to get the kid without the months of rehab he did with you? You gave that family four more years with Riley, he got to see Erin graduate from middle school. He got to be there when Dan and his team won the little league tournament. He got to run next to Terri when he learned to ride a bike. You gave him four more years, and tonight you gave them a chance to say goodbye. I know that wasn’t what you wanted to do tonight, but it was still a good job_.”

KTs hand moved from where it was pressed to the floor and griped Sam’s pant leg. Sam slowly moved his hand until it was on top of hers, he gave her hand a squeeze. The three of them sat on the floor for a little while longer, eventually KTs hand tightened her grip on Sam’s pant leg, KT didn’t lift her face from her knees when she finally spoke, her voice was quiet and sounded like she had swallowed gravel.

“ _Can you take me home_?”

Sam picked KTs hand up off his leg and placed it back on her knees,

“ _Of course_.”

Sam and Dean stood up, Sam leaned down and scooped KT up off the ground, as he moved her the muscles that hadn’t moved since the abuse they’d taken during the surgery screamed in protest, KT let out a gasp. Dean took the cap and mask off of her head and ran a hand through her hair,

“ _It’ll be ok_.”

If KT was any more with it she would have snorted at Dean’s actions but the trip from the floor to Sam’s arms had taken out the last reserves of her energy and she was almost unconscious. Sam walked steadily out to the car, he placed KT in the backseat, her body going limp against the leather upholstery. Dean drove the impala out into the night, taking care to make the ride as smooth as possible. When they pulled up in front of their house Sam and Dean got out of the impala, KT was passed out in the backseat. As Sam lifted her limp body out of the car she made a pained sound of protest. Sam carried her into the house, mindful of trying to not jostle her and cause more pain. When they got into the house Sam walked straight into the living room and sat down on the couch, he maneuvered KT so she was laying against hit chest, as he settled her he untied the two ties that held the surgery gown closed in the back. Dean entered the living room carrying a bowl of warm water, a washcloth, a bottle of painkillers, and a glass of water. Dean pulled the bloodied surgery gown off of KT and then dipped the washcloth in the warm water, starting with her face he began to wipe the blood off of her. When KT no longer looked like she was an extra in a horror film Dean set the bowl aside. Sam sat up and shook KT slightly while Dean shook out a number of pills into his hand. KTs eyes began to flutter, Dean put his hand on her leg and shook,

“ _Come on KT you’ve got to be awake for just a second_.”

KTs eyes opened, as the fog began to clear her eyes started to widen, her muscles began to tense and she made a move to get up, Sam’s arms tightened around her waste,

“ _One, if you think you’re getting up you’re crazy and two, even if you managed to break out of my grip I highly doubt you would be able to stand let alone walk down the hallway so just stay put alright_?”

KT stopped her struggle and focused on Dean who was holding some pills out in front of her, Dean handed her the pills and gave a small smile,

“ _Take these, doctors orders_.”

KT frowned at the number of pills in her hand,

“ _What doctor_?”

Dean closed her hand around the pills and held up the glass of water,

“ _You. When you couldn’t be moved without gasping, and the fact that your left arm has yet to move since we found you. I’m guessing you’re in a world of hurt and need some serious TLC_.”

KT gave a small shrug which made her wince, she made a move to throw the pills into her mouth when Dean’s hand suddenly shot out grabbing her wrist,

“ _Wait, when was the last time you ate something_?”

KT frowned and thought for a moment,

“ _Around 2pm I think_.”

Sam groaned behind her,

“ _You mean the granola bar I gave you, seriously_?”

KT didn’t answer him, Dean got up from the couch and headed into the kitchen. The sound of the fridge opening could be heard, a short time later Dean returned with a sandwich and an apple. He took the pills from KTs hand and replaced them with the sandwich. KT made quick work of the sandwich and apple, when she was done Dean handed her the pills and she took them without a fight. Dean cleared the table and sat down at the end of the couch, pulling KTs legs onto of his lap and rubbing at her knee, which felt inflamed and angry. KT stifled a small gasp and laid her head back, taking a deep breath,

“ _Look, I do this sometimes, I work too hard and I forget to eat all day, or I end up crashing at my desk after a marathon day, or I take a case too hard and go a little catatonic, it just happens. I used to be able to take care of it myself, but judging by the fact that I feel like I have the strength of a drowned kitten right now I’m guess I’m not so good at taking care of it myself anymore. So, thank you for taking care of me. I would say that this is a one time thing, but we all know that’s a lie, so, thank you_.”

Sam’s arms tightened around KTs waste and Dean smiled,

“ _Anytime sweetheart.”_

 _“Anytime, though I’m making sure the cabinets in the clinic are stocked full of food from now on_.”

KT let out a small laugh and gave Sam’s hand a squeeze, she spoke quietly, it was clear she was halfway to falling asleep again.

“ _Thanks for those things you said, it meant a lot_.”

Sam squeezed her hand in return,

“ _I meant it_.”

KTs eyelids grew heavy and soon she was fast asleep. Dean glanced over at Sam, he could see a myriad of emotions warring across his face, he sighed,

“ _That guilt you’re feeling, it never really goes away_.”

Sam looked up at Dean, he was confused for a moment until a conversation he had had with Dean a few months before came into mind, “ _The truth is, they always need you”._ When it looked like Sam had caught on Dean continued,

“ _You feel happy because you’re needed, but you feel guilty for feeling happy, that never goes away, just try and ignore it, you didn’t cause the pain, it’s not your fault, just take care of her when it happens. If the guilt gets too bad find an outlet for it, I use cooking to ease my guilt, find a hobby, try craftsmanship, make things around the place to help out_.”

“ _Thanks Dean_.”

Dean leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes,

“ _No problem, get some shut eye Sam, I have a feeling she’s going to wake up cranky and judging by the fact her muscles are still tremoring she’s not going to be very mobile. An over cranky non mobile KT spells a day of us running around and possibly getting things thrown at our heads, lord knows you can’t take many more blows to your noggin_.”

Sam rolled his eyes but settled back into the couch and closed his eyes himself,

“ _Night_.”

Dean’s only answer was a deep snore, and that’s how the hunter’s spent the rest of their evening, curled up on the couch, asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> The Constellations on Sam’s scrub cap  
>  \- Camelopardalis: The Giraffe  
>  \- Canes Venatici: The Two Hunting Dogs  
>  \- Orion: The Hunter  
>  \- Perseus: The Greek Hero


End file.
